A new ag bike at this year’s Australian National Field Days at Borenore might have some people reminiscing about their old “posties”, but this bike straight out of New Zealand has one big difference – it’s electric.
Built purely as a workhorse, this chargable, aluminium frame bike with its step-through design comes without the “dirt bike” gimmicks.
At just 63 kilograms and a 120 kilometre range, the Ubco electric bike is glimpse of the future, says Adam Besedic, of Adam Besedic Motorcycles, Cowra.
Mr Besedic had one of these new bikes – which he has only had in stock for about two months – on show on the Polaris site at the field days.
He said the bike was designed for general farm, but had a bunch practical design features that set it apart from the regular petrol motor bikes.
For starters, it doesn’t have a chain. Instead, the front and back wheels each have a small electric motor, making this two-wheel all rounder all wheel drive.
Mr Besedic said it also had a usb port, which allowed the farmer to charge their phone or laptop on the go. This drew its power from the bike’s 48 amp lithium-ion batttery, which has a six hour charge time (0 to 90 per cent charged).
Other features were no noise, no clutch or gears and all-terrain suspension.
Mr Besedic said a new model is also soon to be released that would also feature a navigation system to allow farmers to map their farms. This includes fencelines, roads and gateways, down to details as specific as rocks in a paddock.
“You can map all your farm, go back on the computer, we have an app that can actually tell the distance – that’s what’s coming next year,” he said.
Mr Besedic said he decided to retail the bike after a representative from Ubco visited his shop in Cowra.
“I can see the change with what’s coming with electric vehicles. He just came to our shop and I can see the change that’s coming with electric vehicles, so I just took it on board,” Mr Besedic said.
“It’s created a lot of interest at the show here. A few people have said to me it’s probably the best things they’ve seen at the show – it’s quite innovative.”
The bike’s 40 amp hour lithium battery has a five year lifespan and the bike’s brushless electric motors are also sealed keeping out dust.
He said the brushless motor design meant the only wear points were the wheel bearings and brake pads.
The battery can also be rebuilt for a cost of about $800 and provides the bike with two kilowatts and 90 Newton metres of torque for a top speed of 52 kilometres an hour.
